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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27069340">A potentially lethal taste test</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ash0605/pseuds/Ash0605'>Ash0605</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Birthday, But nothing bad happens because of them, CW: Poison and Death are mentioned, Dessert &amp; Sweets, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Fluff, HBD RINKO YOURE SO VERY VALID!!!, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Sayo is great too but its Rinko day so uhhhhh, Tags Are Hard, sunset</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-09 00:28:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,447</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27069340</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ash0605/pseuds/Ash0605</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After a series of recent assassination attempts made against the head of the Shirokane royal household, Sayo finds herself testing the royal princesses' food for poison. Accompanied by a pleasant atmosphere, lots of sweet treats and one of the most breathtaking girls she has ever met, Sayo must be careful not to lose her focus. The life of the princess is potentially at stake!</p><p>Happy Birthday Rinko!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hikawa Sayo/Shirokane Rinko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A potentially lethal taste test</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Many moons prior, the regal, red carpeted halls of the Shirokane royal castle were walked jovially by servants, visitors and soldiers of all kinds. However, a series of shocking assassination attempts made against the life of the Queen resulted in security being tightened and the castle being locked down.</p><p>Sayo patrolled slowly down one of the castles many corridors, her eyes darting from one clean, marble wall to the other. As far as she knew, she was the only person walking around this area of the castle, the only noise resonating throughout the halls being the ruffling of the woolen carpet underfoot. Thanks to new rules prohibiting weapon carrying and concealment, she was not burdened with the familiar heaviness of her chest plate, nor was she accompanied with her trusty sword swinging back and forth at her waist. The magic lamps fixed along the walls, which before had kept the corridors lit with a steady bright light, now only brought the dark spots along the corridor to Sayo’s attention if they were lit at all.</p><p>The tension and unease building throughout Sayo’s guard duty reached a crescendo as she heard a door creaking somewhere around her. She jumped back from where she thought the noise was coming from, slamming into the wall behind her. Her eyes surveyed her surroundings, imagining armed criminals hiding in the dark spots of the corridor and pondering whether running to the armory to grab her sword and armor was a breach of code or a good idea.</p><p>Though her eyes rested on a slightly ajar white wooden door to the opposite right of her position her heartrate did not. A purple eye was peeking through the doorframe. “W-Who’s there?” Sayo demanded. Her shaky, loud voice prompted the door to be quickly closed, confirming the source of the disturbance. As Sayo started approaching the door slowly, her hands balling into fists and her rate of breathing quickening, the door started to open again, revealing two erudite purple eyes and a limited view of distinctive black hair.</p><p>Sayo suppressed a yell as she stumbled back and straightened her arms at her sides. “F-Forgive me, my lady! I did not mean to startle you!” she apologized, committing to a deep bow.</p><p>The door was opened, giving Sayo full view of the scion of the Shirokane royal house. The few interactions she had with the Queen and the glimpse of the bangs of her hair through the doorway didn’t prepare her for how long and striking her hair was. She was shorter than Sayo, with pale, delicate skin. Her frilly dress was modest and monotone, the top part being a white blouse and the black skirt connected to it reaching down to her feet. She raised her hands in front of her defensively. “N…no! I… startled you first. Are you… doing anything right now?” she questioned meekly, drawing her hands into herself and clenching them together.</p><p>“I’m currently doing my afternoon patrols, but it would be my pleasure to assist with anything that’s ailing you.” Sayo said, trying her best to sound reassuring not only to the girl in front of her but to herself.  </p><p>“Can… you come in?” the girl asked, stepping to the side of the door and beckoning her inside. Sayo nodded and started making her way in without hesitation. The first thing that struck Sayo about the princesses’ room was the balcony, which allowed a lot of light into the room and allowed an expansive view of the bustling city around the castle and the verdant forests beyond. The room was rectangular and the entrance to the balcony, complete with a sliding glass door and a faint curtain, took up one of the shorter sides of the room. Two adjacent sides of the room were completely devoted to bookshelves, containing an incredible collection of tomes that towered above Sayo. Each shelf was organized by subject matter. Sayo noticed collections devoted to the study of magic, history, law, crossword puzzles and female centric romance novels, the latter collection reminding Sayo not to poke her nose into the affairs of the royal scion. The bookshelves were accompanied with an attached moveable stepladder, making half of the girl’s room look like a library.</p><p>A modest white bed was tucked into the corner of the room, and a violet carpet was laid across the floor. The girl walked towards, and thus drew Sayo’s attention to, a table and two chairs laid out in the center of the room. “If it’s not too much trouble, could I… ask for your name?” she asked, turning towards Sayo but not making direct eye contact.</p><p>“It’s not too much trouble, my lady. My name is Sayo.”</p><p>“Sayo…” Her name rolled across the girls tongue, after which her lips curled into a smile. “What a wonderful name… It reminds me of nighttime and stars and constellations and…” After spending a few moments indulging in her thoughts with closed eyes she seemed to check herself, raising her hands up defensively in front of her and stepping back. “I-I-I’m sorry! I got carried away!” Her eyes darted around the room before she settled on kneeling down and grabbing a sturdy, white bag from underneath the table. “I’ve got… some food here with me but I’m… scared its poisoned. Could… you test it for me?” She tilted her head as she spoke, her eyes dashing around the room trying to focus on anything other than Sayo.</p><p>Sayo nodded gravely. “It would be my honor to ensure your safety, my lady.” She pushed down the rising feeling of dread in her stomach by thinking about her place in the bigger picture. If her death ensured the safety of the venerable royal line, then so be it.</p><p>“Thank you so much…!” the girl replied, flashing Sayo a breathtakingly beautiful smile. “I’ll get the first piece of food out!” She reached down into the bag and carefully pulled out a square box. “By the way… feel free to call me Rinko.”</p><p>The feeling in Sayo’s stomach subsided somewhat, replaced with a smile on her face. It was a truly wonderful name, carrying the wishes of her parents to bring light to the darkest and most hopeless parts of the-</p><p>Sayo gasped, slapping her hands onto her cheeks to hide her embarrassment. “M-M-My lady?!” she stammered.</p><p>“This is… the first item…” she started, cutting off Sayo’s train of thought. Opening the box out revealed a small but lavishly decorated white cake that made Sayo’s eyes widen. It was one of the most extravagant dishes she had ever laid her eyes on, all condensed into an object no larger than one of the saucepans in the kitchen.</p><p>As Rinko placed the cake and a pair of spoons on the table and gently pushed it in Sayo’s direction, Sayo blinked and took a step back. “My lady… I don’t mean to speak against an order, but I’m not sure if I’m suitable for something as exquisite as this.”</p><p>“Would you rather…” Rinko stopped and searched for her words, staring down at her clenched hands across her stomach. “Would you rather… a member of the royal family… got poisoned?”</p><p>Sayo bolted upright in terror and then bowed profusely. “I hope you can find it in you to forgive my rudeness! I won’t question my orders again!” she exclaimed. As she pulled the cake over to her and reached for a spoon, she looked back over to Rinko for confirmation. The other girl wasn’t meeting her gaze and was almost trying to shrink away. Sayo decided not to question this, raising the spoonful of cake to her lips.</p><p>After hesitantly placing it into her mouth, Sayo felt herself melt in satisfaction as she savored the cloyingly sweet taste of white chocolate. She whined indulgently but checked herself before she had the chance to express her pleasure further. She dowsed for any sharp, unpleasant tastes or sensations and found there weren’t any. “I think its fine.” she concluded.</p><p>Rinko breathed a sigh of relief and made her way over to Sayo. She had perked up, and the smile had returned to her face. “Thank goodness… you looked like you really enjoyed it. Feel free to help yourself to some more.” Sayo felt a hand rest hesitantly on her shoulder for a second after which she felt a gentle pressure press down. “Please take a seat… I insist.”</p><p>Though Sayo was caught off guard initially, she composed herself and sat down unquestionably as Rinko pushed her chair closer to the table. The feel of the soft velvet cushion on her butt was a comfort she had never experienced. She felt herself relax and lean back but remembered to take another spoonful of cake.</p><p>The brilliant smile had returned to Rinko’s face, and she let out a beautiful chuckle that made Sayo’s cheeks turn pink. “You look… really comfortable Sayo… I’ll get us some drinks.” Rinko turned away before Sayo could compose a retort, so Sayo shut herself up with some cake. The second spoonful was just as good as the first. She reached for a third one but stopped halfway through retrieving it as she felt the distinctive hum of magical energy resonate through the air. She turned to Rinko, who was holding a small porcelain mug in her white-hot hands. Her lips were curled downwards in concentration and her violet eyes were intensely focused. After a minute or so of heating, she repeated the process for a second mug before placing one mug in front of Sayo and keeping another one for herself as she sat in the seat opposite Sayo.</p><p>Sayo broke her trance to look at the mug in front of her, which was filled with warm milk. Her eyes then drifted to the middle of the table, which was where her arm was still extended to. She recoiled her spoon and widened her eyes in shock as she realized the cake had fallen off the spoon and onto the table. “F-Forgive me, my lady! I didn’t mean to soil your table!” she exclaimed, raising her hands up in front of her.</p><p>Rinko took no notice, picking up the cake pieces with her fingers and popping it into her mouth. She sighed delightfully as she savored the taste, after which she cleaned off her fingers with a napkin. She smiled brightly at Sayo’s embarrassed face. “Don’t worry about apologizing… That was delicious! If anything… I should the one apologizing for not using a spoon. I know I’ve said this before… but feel free to call me Rinko when it’s just the two of us…”</p><p>“R-R-Rinko…?”</p><p>“I’m so glad…” Rinko chuckled. She rested her head in her palms and tilted her head at Sayo, looking at her with friendly eyes. “Sometimes… I see you training in the guard’s quarters…”</p><p>Sayo almost dropped her spoon. The scion of the Shirokane royal line was notoriously elusive, with tall tales and stories running rampant among the recruits. With those in mind, it was hard to believe that Rinko left her room, let alone watched the guards quarters. She recomposed herself after a few seconds and reached for a spoonful of cake hoping to convince Rinko of the same fact. “You do…?”</p><p>Rinko nodded. “I do. Your sword strokes and slashes… seem to the products of years of dedication and work. You work so… hard to improve your stamina. You even tried to… constantly wear your armor so you could get used to the weight.” Sayo felt a blush race across her cheeks. Had Rinko been paying attention for that long? Rinko seemed to realize this too, as she gasped and covered her face with her hands. “I’m sorry! That sounded so wrong!”</p><p>Sayo took a sip of the warm milk mug, feeling the warm liquid grace her throat. “Don’t worry about it my la… I mean… Rinko. I didn’t take any offence to that. To be honest you are completely correct. My sister can achieve mastery of something with little effort, while I’ve accustomed myself to working hard.” She reached for another piece of cake.</p><p>“Oh? You have a sister?” Rinko leaned forward with interest, tilting her head. “What’s having a sister like?”</p><p>Sayo finished chewing her food, though not even that gave her enough time to mull over her answer. “I suppose the experience of having a sibling differs for each person. If you want my experience in particular, my sister’s somewhat of a troublemaker.” She sighed inaudibly at her answer, correcting herself internally. Hina wasn’t a troublemaker, she was energetic and curious. She didn’t have a bad thought about Sayo in her body, making her description as a troublemaker sound more inadequate and pathetic in comparison.</p><p>“That’s not something I’d thought about. I assumed that having a sibling was… always a good thing. I would definitely feel… a bit less lonely at times if I had a brother or sister. I apologize for assuming your experiences.”</p><p>“No, don’t be.” Sayo reassured, giving an encouraging smile. “You bring up a good point about siblings though. My time with Hina… wasn’t always positive, but it was always interesting and I was certainly never lonely. Not truly, at least.”</p><p>Rinko perked up and nodded happily. “I’m glad I didn’t hurt your feelings.” She took a sip of milk and then reached for the bag at her feet, pulling out a smaller, transparent bag filled with what seemed to be cookies. “I’m sorry for the… awkward change in subject but could you… try these cookies as well?”</p><p>“I can test those cookies for you my l… Rinko.” The sense of dread Sayo had felt previously did not return, and Sayo looked at the cookies with anticipation. Instead of opening the bag and pushing it towards Sayo, Rinko opened the bag and placed her hand inside. She pulled a cookie out of the bag and held it towards Sayo. The dough was golden brown and looked delightfully crumbly and the chocolate chips were distributed evenly through the dough.</p><p>“Say ‘ahhhhh…’” Rinko’s face dashed to the side for a second, and while it didn’t fully conceal her blush Sayo was too occupied with her own to notice.</p><p>“R-R-Rinko?! I-I can eat the cookies by myself if that makes it easier!” Sayo stammered.</p><p>“No, you’re… always doing so much for me… You’re putting your life on the line to test for poison. The least I can do… is help you.” Rinko justified. She extended her hand as far as she could towards Sayo. “Please… I insist.”</p><p>Sayo started dumbfounded for a few seconds before she composed herself and started to lean forward. She opened her mouth and made an ‘ahhhhh’ sound. After hesitating for a few seconds, Rinko carefully popped the cookie into Sayo’s mouth. After confirming that Rinko’s fingers were firmly out of the way she bit down. The cookie was just as crumbly and chocolatey as she was anticipating. “It’s really good! I mean…! I think its fine.”</p><p>Rinko chuckled gleefully to herself before taking a cookie and savoring the taste for herself. “That’s good. I wouldn’t want there to… be any poison there. Am I ok asking another question? I’m sorry if it feels… like I’m dominating the conversation.”</p><p>Sayo shook her head re-assuredly, reaching to grab a few cookies. “Don’t worry… Rinko. I don’t mind you asking.”</p><p>Rinko narrowed her eyes down at the table and stroked her chin as she searched for a way to communicate her question. “Do you… Do you have… another passion that isn’t practicing the sword? Or is that something you’ve dedicated your life to?” The rising panic on her face a few seconds later caused her to add to her question. “I’m sorry if that came out weird! I didn’t want… to make it seem like you only have your sword training.”</p><p>Sayo chuckled to herself, flattered by Rinko’s conscientiousness. “I’m flattered you care about my feelings so much. Don’t worry about offending me. Besides, I don’t just have my career as a guard here. I also… played the guitar back home, though I don’t play it much anymore while I’m here.”</p><p>Rinko shot up, her eyes widening. “You play the guitar?” She stood up from her seat. “You play music too?”</p><p>Sayo nodded slowly, surprised by Rinko’s enthusiasm. “I do play music. I’m presuming from your statement that you play music too?”</p><p>“I do!” Rinko confirmed excitedly. “I play the piano! I used to keep it in my room over there.” Rinko gestured to the vacant back corner of the room. “In fact… I feel like I relate to you in that way…”</p><p>“Relate?” Sayo tilted her head and leaned forward. “How so?”</p><p>“You stopped playing guitar… so you could focus on your career here as a member of the guard. I stopped playing piano so I could focus on my magical studies. I needed to hone my magic potential… in case my mother got taken away from me.” After finishing, Rinko slumped back into her chair.</p><p>Sayo leaned back in surprise, taken aback by the dark tone of the conversation and of Rinko’s now shaky voice. She felt her fists ball up in anger. “Those people out there wanting to assassinate your mother…don’t understand what they’re forcing you to do! They…!” Sayo hesitated as her eyes met Rinko’s. Her sad, concerned expression caused her anger to dissipate. She let out a shaky breath. “I’m sorry Rinko. I shouldn’t have gotten angry about that. It was very mature of you to focus on your magic in the event that you have to inherit the kingdom early. I should focus on that instead of my disdain for that group.”</p><p>“Don’t worry. You didn’t… mean badly by what you said.” Rinko took a few deep breaths, recomposing herself before continuing. “Despite our different responsibilities, we really are similar. We both sacrifice our passions and hobbies for the good of the kingdom.” she pondered out loud, her voice trailing away.</p><p>Sayo’s immediate thought was ‘We might be similar on the surface, but the magnitude of our responsibilities differ wildly.’ but she pushed it aside. Looking at Rinko’s melancholic face convinced her that such a statement was the last thing she needed. As she buried her first thought a second, possibly more troublesome thought popped into existence and exited her mouth before she could stop it.</p><p>“Do you want to meet up and play music together?”</p><p>Rinko’s eyes widened in shock and interest. “Play… music?”</p><p>Sayo nodded hesitantly. She would have to follow this train of thought through now. “Yes. You could get your piano and I could fetch my guitar from home and we could meet again and play music together.”</p><p>Rinko blinked several times in thought before her mouth widened into a contagious, brilliant smile. Sayo could have sworn she saw tears form in the corner of her eyes. “I would love that actually…! I’ve never played music with anyone else before!”</p><p>“I haven’t either. Shall we do it then? If I have my guitar when we meet again next, we can play together.”</p><p>“Yes! Let’s do that!”</p><p>The pair nodded in unison as they took to eating what was left of the delicacies on the table and finishing what was left of their now cold drinks. There was certainly no poison in the food that afternoon. Sayo stopped midway through a cookie as she realized that thoughts like that were irrelevant now. Even if Sayo was hesitant to put a name to it, her relationship with Rinko was now more than just testing food for poison, more than just performing her duty as a guard.</p><p>As time marched on, the sun started to set in the horizon, painting the view of the sky from Rinko’s balcony with a breathtaking gradient of reds, oranges and yellows. It was while pondering this view that Sayo realized just how much time had passed.</p><p>Sayo lowered the cookie in her hand away from her mouth as she stared at the sunset. “Rinko, I think my shift ended hours ago.”</p><p>Rinko’s eyes and mouth widened in shock. “Yes it must have done…! I’m so sorry to keep you here for so long! They must be looking for you now…”</p><p>“They probably are, but they haven’t gotten here yet. With that in mind, I suppose there’s no issue staying here a few minutes longer. I can’t see the sunset from my room.”</p><p>Rinko realized the implication of Sayo’s words with an indulgent smile as Sayo picked up her chair and moved it next to Rinko’s. The pair turned their chairs around to watch the sun set, enjoying the collage of colours and light together.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>HBD RINKO AAAAAAAAAAAAA<br/>God Rinko is so validating to me in so many ways. As someone who only has online friendships, seeing Rinko and Ako get along so well makes me feel super valid! Seeing her work so hard to better herself and overcome her social anxiety is really inspiring too. I'll probably never reach that point myself because I'm a disaster, but its still super nice to see Rinko work towards that goal. In a rare moment of intelligence and proper planning I actually had two ideas for this birthday fic, the other being a HimaRinko fic! I liked the idea of that fic enough, so I definitely want to write it in the future if I can. I'm glad i opted for this idea though, I had so much fun writing it!</p><p>Thank you so much for reading! If you have any comments or feedback feel free to leave them here! If you want to reach out on twitter feel free to do so at @ash060500</p><p>I hope you have a good rest of your day and I wish you the best in staying safe!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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